Coming to America, Dream of Africa: To Zed with Love...

Thought I would finally redeem myself and start blogging again this Mama Monday. What has sparked my creative juices in a literary fashion once more? America!

Indeed it is the place where I started this blog 5 years ago.  The scene is almost the same; though in California, I am at Stanford, not USC in LA. I haven't been to America since I left in August 2010. This blog then helped me to work through my nervous condition of reconciling my Afropolitan nature. I think I have finally cracked how to be global living local but constantly need to check in when things get wobbly. Now, to sustain it this healthy cycle... 

This year has been a crazy year. A truly blessed year. But turbulent due to the fact that certain parts of my life, essential to my soul and spiritual health, were sidelined. I am finally able to afford to travel, thanks to e18hteam getting into film festivals and being brand ambassador for Zambeef, but I have barely been able to read, let alone write since I posted the traditional Top 10 of the preceding year.

Descent in to SFO in September

So how does America get me to write? Zambia, though I love her, requires so much of my energy spent on surviving the crazy to thrive, that I get lost in the thick of things.  If you have been following me on social media, you will have seen I have made a couple of trips to Europe.  There I am at home, so my soul gets a breather to just be, which is a prerequisite for regeneration, but not great at fostering growth.  What the US does is smack me in the face. I know it's going to occur many a time, yet it happens spontaneously, erratically, unpredictably, and I'm blindsided every time.  It challenges who I am, where I come from and what my place is in the world in such a singular way.  

I have not been back in 5 years and have not found a reason to be excited to return until a close friend's wedding, my documentary included in the Official Selection of SVAFF, and my Stanford 10 year reunion all coincidentally scheduled themselves within a month of each other in Northern California.  The trip was worth it on so many levels.  The film had just completed a national tour and I was in need of a break. So the wedding and reunion book ended my trip, so could travel for work while getting some much needed downtime in between.

Within two hours of arriving, switching from International to Domestic, as I made my way through security to embark on my 3rd flight, after 24 hours already spent on 2 planes plus a 4 hour layover, Amurrrica did not disappoint with why I left (so I am now at peace with that decision and will never look back), but also revealed why I need to come back to get some shock treatment regularly. When I handed over my passport to the lady at Security:

TSA Agent: Oh my God, I knew that couldn't be right! I was like whaaaaat, you can't be from Zamunda, coz that's a fictitious place!

She waits for a response from me, but all I can do is smile, gobsmacked, and with the foresight to just smile but not wave because I am not a penguin from Madagascar, but I could be King Koffi's illegitimate daughter at this point he he he...

TSA Agent: You know what I mean, right...

Me: Yes, yes I do. Coming to America.

TSA Agent: Yeah! So you are from ZAAAMBEEEEEYAAAAAH?

Me: Yes, It is in Southern Africa.

TSA Agent: Never seen that before!

In my head I'm thinking, why am I the one to pop people's Zambia cherry?!

In retrospect this is hilarious. Take this quiz to make you feel better. Coming to America is all sorts of wrong.  It was in the 80s, even more so now, but you have to see the hilarity in it or you'll just die inside thinking of all the damage through misrepresentation and ignorance it has caused. I proudly got 10/10.

I took another 6 domestic flights and visited California, Massachusetts and Illinios. These trips all created encounters with TSA Agents and people who tried to put me in a box they understood before their brain exploded, as I don't read to the stereotypical conditioning that is required for people to assign norms in order to interact:

Reading directly from my passport as they say this:

Multiple TSA Agents: Ah you're from Zimbabwe... 

Me: !!!!!!!!!!

Random conversations with strangers:

Thought you were from Africa! When I heard your accent, I detected French there...

In my head: I'm from an English speaking African country and went to school in England and speak terrible French so....

Oh so your name is Engasa? Is that from the click language, you know the one I am talking about right?

Me: Languages with clicks are further South in Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, but I think you are referring to Xhosa.

Yeah, that's the one. I'm actually trying to learn that. Do you know how to pronouce...

Internal dialogue: I love my name Ngosa, so small yet causes such great difficulty in pronunciation he he he.  Why do Americans only know about the click language?! Do they know that it's rude to refer to it that way and ignorance to not know there is more than one? And please if you are going to learn any language, KNOW ITS NAME out of respect for the people who speak it and the culture it represents. Inexcusable! And no I will not be an authority on how you butcher someone else's tongue...

Back in the day this would irk me to the point where I would need all my might to hold back the vitriol that would try to force its way out in volcanic proportions and decimation.  Before I needed to avoid Pompeii, now that volcano is not even dormant, it's extinct. I talk about these incidents with empty passion, devoid of emotion. I ask myself what lead to the crazy and attempt to work out a rational explanation for their words and actions, but don't stress about it, whether I can figure things out or not. Why? Because these moments are hilarious.  I find the humour in this derogatory ignorance towards my continent and my people.  All I can do is lead by example, but I am in no way obligated to educate. These are grown people, armed with the best access to the Internet and its treasures.  Google is at their disposal with a plethora of information to expand horizons, to increase exposure exponentially ad infinitum. But what I get from these jolts of crazy are a wake up call for my soul. Woolgathering ensues and I have been able recalibrate, refocus - reacquaint myself with who I am as well as who I want to be, and how to get there to be a positive force in the world and a part of communities.  

Wearing Poleka by @MutoniChola
and copper jewelry from Free Zambia

So thank you America, for now you have bulldozed through my writers block and exposed a whole new creative space that includes blogging. Once again, I have been forced to Nike and just do it, but what has also been revealed is my evolution.  Last time I started writing out of anger and despair, this time I write not from a place of irked and determined indignation, but from a peaceful, sage place of transcendent freedom and comfort in oneself that outside forces ultimately cannot put asunder.  No longer noxious, my relationship with America has turned from detrimental to a positive, catalytic, cathartic one.

So all because of some profound nonsense, (and you know I love me some of that), in coming to America, I did not dream of staying and being a model immigrant, but of going back to the continent to the country I love, flying the Zambian flag proudly ;}. So cheers to that, to writing again and to heading back to the continent tomorrow!

For more about my journey this year and to keep up-to-date with everything going on with the film, as well my other projects in Zambia and globally, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

LEMBA: African Female Bloggers and the Metamorphosis of Love

Mazuba Kapambwe blogger at Afrosocialiting
and I after the Ngoma Awards in
Lusaka, December 2012.
Photo by Silumesii Maboshe
© Pencil Case Studios

Tomorrow as I have mentioned I will be speaking with other wonderful African women about the "Metamorphosis of Love".  This all happened because one of my Stanford besties happens to be besties with Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah of the Adventures from the bedrooms of African Women. I crashed her bday party while falling in love with Ghana in January and afterwards reached out without looking like too much of a stalker fan (ahem I hope he he he).

In my early days of blogging, the Adventures blog was one of my go-to sites for inspiration.  I was so impressed by how bold these women were as, sex is such a taboo subject on the continent.  So is love.    We talk about AIDS and the perils of fornication, and if we do talk about love and sex it's in a church during a wedding where you are given blessing to copulate for procreation and where love is celebrated in a very traditional fashion for a coupla hours.  I digress, as I was saying, this blog inspired me to blaze my own trail with my own voice.  They disappeared for a while, which led me to believe they had been abducted by the forces of silence, but they thankfully came back.

Nana introduced me to Malaka Gyekye Grant, the other half of Adventures.  And then it clicked after a couple of exchanges  that she is the woman of Mind of Malaka whom I had stumbled upon after looking for the original of You Intellectual Scum account and I had another round of geeking out on Twitter with her.  Both have been so kind as to think that I may have something to say about love and the African woman.  I have not blogged much about the subject to be discussed - this post is the only one completely dedicated to it in the Love tag is and I have only made one PSA about safe sex, though I did speak about sexual choices in this post and discrimination here. I basically have skirted around both issues, only really directly addressing them in the first year of the blog and in the AIDS tag.  

Check out the other ladies who will be a part of the Metamorphis of Love Google+ Hangout at 19:00 CAT, 17:00GMT which will be facilitated by Malaka and produced by Nana:

Tosinger from the Nigeria and the USA

The Rambling Roommates from Ghana

Tiffany from South Africa and Kenya

And just for Malaka, as promised, I appeal to a baller Nigeria to be pimpin' and donate to Blogging Ghana's indiegogo campaign to help Ghanaian bloggers tell more stories. Or anyone else with deep pockets for that matter :)... 

@AbenaGyekye how about I get a Nigerian baller to give on this poor Zambian's behalf ha ha ha! When is the deadline, waiting to get paid...
— Ngosa Chungu (@whoops_c) February 10, 2014

Nelson Mandela: A Selection of Quotes

The Baobab tree best symbolises Nelson Mandela: strength, nourishment,
staying power,  a vessel of wisdom with age.

Thought it would be timely to create a list of Mandela quotes that speak to me right now.  I love quotes.  They are little but impactful bursts of inspiration, priceless nuggets of knowledge.  People who know how to craft words can say the most profound things, with infinite power to uplift, encourage and/ or lead in such short turns of phrase.  Love it. Madiba was a pro.  And I love that unlike many in the world who tried to make him into a saint who could do no wrong so that they could vicariously be good through him, he never saw himself as anything but a man: a fallible human who did the best with what he had.

I will say though, I am a little shocked that I haven't quoted him more often, not even in the Amashiwi section! And I seem to only mention him in relation to others in blog posts.  Which actually shows exactly what he would keep communicating: that your life is only worth its weight in salt if it has impact on others, if it is measured in relation  to others.  I am still ashamed that I haven't dedicated more posts to him in the past...Well there is a whole future to reflect on him in so not to worry.

Quotes that resonate with me at this point in time in my life:

What counts is not the mere fact that we have lived.  It is what difference we have made in the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

There is no passion to be found playing small in settling for a life that is less than the one  you are capable of living.

Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will come up even in the end. 

I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.

It is never my custom to use words lightly.  If twenty-seven years in prison  have done anything to us,  it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand  how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die.

You sharpen your ideas by reducing yourself to the level of the people  you are with and a sense of humour  and a complete relaxation, even when you're discussing serious things, does help mobilise friends around you.  And I love that. 

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

I have learnt that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.  The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

For to be free is not to merely cast off one's chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

Lead from the back - let other's believe they are in front.

Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.

It always seems impossible, until it is done.

MbA posts with Rolihlahla inspiration:

Nelson Mandela: Paradigm of Legacy to Follow

My Recent Bout of that Icky Nervous Condition...

Music with a Message

Desmond Tutu Announces his Imminent Retirement

Happy Birthday Madiba

Nelson Mandela: Paradigm of Legacy to Follow

Post by Nelson Mandela.

I have been a little out of it recently, and have been struggling to keep up with current events.  Today I was at a bank, in line to deposit cash, when I saw "REMEMBERING MANDELA" on the TV screen  on the wall and my heart stopped.  I was momentarily paralysed as I processed the information in front of me.  A couple of months ago, I posted on Facebook that I was not ready for Mandela to die.  For selfish reasons.  One of my life goals was to meet the man.  Unfortunately I am a late bloomer and so did not make my small mark in the world in time to be able to warrant an audience with him, let alone have such a blessing granted.

I remember when he was freed in 1990, as it was a few days after my birthday.  I remember thinking that this man must be really special, as all the world is watching, people have sung songs for his freedom, and he has survived prison for what seemed like a ten lifetimes to the child I was.  Years later, when I was applying to Stanford, I not only wrote about the Matrix being closer to reality than we think as in Japan, robots were being created to be nurse maids for their ageing population and prototypes already existed, bu also about Madiba.

After those moments of shock, I was at peace when I thought about what I had written in my application.  Despite the odds the man lived a full life.  He lived in the lowest depths, in prisons both literal and proverbial that could have shackled his spirit, extinguished the fire in his soul, and yet he came out 27 years later even more determined to defend freedom, even prouder to be a Black man, a South African, an African and most impressively, even more committed to forgiveness.  Even though he had been wronged repeatedly by white South Africans, he was still willing to extend the olive branch.  Even though he didn't believe in all the actions that Black South Africans took, at times invoking his name to justify their deeds, he did not hold that against them.

The universe works in mysterious ways.  Last night I read these two articles on Forbes: the traits of mentally strong people and about how whether we like it or not, we are all creating a legacy, so we should think about what we are putting out in the world.  Mandela is probably the most mentally strong man of his generation, and of the last Century, and looking at his legacy, it is a paradigm to follow.

Post by Zapiro.

Though Mandela's time may have set physically in this world, his legacy will endure through the ages.  His impact will forever resonate through the world, and I am glad that I can call on it at any time to comfort, inspire and energise me to do better, to be better, to continually evolve and learn.

MHSRIP

Can't wait to watch Idris Elba as Madiba.  Though he may not look like him, I don't think that is necessary.  The acting is more important, and from what I have seen from the trailer and Behind the Scenes shows, he has captured his essence, his charismatic and powerful presence and has done the man justice.  God is good, the omnipotent one may have taken away the man, but being omniscient, has allowed us to experience him through such a beautiful living body he he he ;}

Polychronic Global Music Mix

As promised, here is the 3-4-10 post of music that defies the laws of time, polychronic in nature: timeless due to  the artists' refusal to be limited by the Zeitgeist to produce music that is ever present in the past, the now and the tomorrows to come.  List is in no particular order, all these songs are dope yo! (For more music explore the Music and African Music tags ) Enjoy! :) 

Top 3 songs right now:

1. Bruno Mars - Locked up

2. PSY - Gangnam Style

3. Contolola - Zone Fam

Top 4 African songs:

1. EME ft. WizKid - Dance For Me

2. Pompi - Packaging

3. Emeli Sande - My Kind of Love

4. Fuse - Azonto

10 songs from the past? present? future?

1. TIV ft Vector & Proverb - Komole

2. E-Sir ft Nameless - Boomba Train

3. Olly Murs - Dance With Me Tonight

4. African Connection - Ami Oh

5. Cactus Agony - Bush territory

6. Ed Sheeran - You Need Me, I Don't Need You (True Tiger Remix ft Dot Rotten & Scrufizer)

7. La Roux - Tigerlilly

8. Daley ft Jesse J

9.  Holstar - Past, Present and Future

10.  Kryptic Kids - H.O.H. (Head Over Heels)

We ARE Better Than That

I will preface this post by saying that I am well aware that all Black and/or African people are not the same and this extends to all stereotyping that can happen when groups are lumped together.  The works discussed here are what they are because of the very specific circumstances the artists live in, but their message can be applied to people in similar circumstances not just because they are Black and/ or African. They can also resonate with anyone who is subjected to confinement, discouragement and/ or prejudice, especially when borne of anything fear related.

I am a fan of music with a message and have blogged about it before. Saw this music video by Slikour  and was very moved by it both visually and lyrically:



Here is him speaking about why he released the song.  Themes in Slikour's song are actually mirrored nicely in The Throne's (Jay-Z and Kanye West) Ni**as in Paris and Yasiin Bey's (formerly known as Mos Def) response Ni**as in Poorest.

Though the song is inspired by the South African Zeitgeist, it resonates with the issues relating to the Black experience around the world.  I remember having a conversation with an African American and a Caribbean about the crab syndrome, where if the militant types who believe in sticking together and standing up for the race no matter what see you are doing your thing in a way that they do not approve of as it is not in keeping with the rules of the people, they want to pull you back down to burn in the pot and suffer with them.  That, or they will not take any criticism, particularly from their own, as that is not protecting the race but considered to be selling-out or a form of self-hate.  We must not confuse constructive criticism, which is a catalyst for positive change, with the colonial, imperial, slave, prejudicial and/ or racial derogation we have suffered for centuries and are still in the process of healing from. We must also heal together, something I think that South Africa as a country makes a great effort to do and is a great example to be followed.  For every story like the one about the South African model who made a racist tweet, there are people coming together and encouraging action from all sides of the race spectrum to do things like Shout SA.  This action group get artists from all genres and backgrounds to come together to help them get the message out, and this is their latest song:



I say we need more people like Bill Cosby, who through creative means on his show was able to offer a positive image of a Black middle-class family and who was castigated by the African-American community for speaking out about the same thing Slikour raps about in his song!  Makonde Linde would say he is doing the same thing with his blackface art in Sweden,  but his recent work of art, the infamous cake, has polarised, rather than inspired people and change in my opinion...I'd rather something like Abba Makama's brilliant short film , a satirical take on Western media reporting, coupled with African dictator stereotypes, to start a conversation:



WE ARE BETTER THAN THAT! I have seen it, I believe it, I live it and I experience it everyday and I know many others who do too :). We need to tell ourselves to do better, hold ourselves accountable for our actions and strive for excellence no matter who we are, where we come from and what colour we may be.

Positively Woman

Muslim Women Walking, Zanzibar August 2011

I have been happily inspired by all things pertaining to womanhood in the last two weeks and so have decided to add to my 3-4-10 series with a round-up.  Thought this picture I took of Muslim women walking along in Zanzibar was the perfect image to use with this post as it is a lovely visual metaphor for how creative and free women can be despite restrictions placed on them by society socially, politically and/ or economically.  Though required to cover themselves, they have found a way to let their personalities shine through by eschewing the traditional black, using African chitenge (or in Swahili kitenge) cloth to infuse colour into their wardrobe, while still adhering to tradition.

3 inspiration women of the moment:

1. President Joyce Banda

Her presidency is the result of the unfortunate death of Malawi's elected head of state, the late Bingu Wa Mutharika.  It has, however, enabled her to become the second female president on the African continent.  Not only that, we now have TWO female heads of state serving concurrently :).  President Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, the recent Nobel Laureate, congratulated President Banda with these words of advice about being a woman and a leader.  To find out more about Her Excellency, read this article: it gives great background and insight into who she is as a person and I also liked this article about her husband, who is set to be a great First Man or is it GENTLEMAN?!- he will not try to usurp power or undermine her to prove he is still the man, you know what I mean?

2.  Leymah Gbowee

I did not know much about Ms. Gbowee till she became the joint Nobel Peace Prize Laureate with her fellow countrywoman President Johnson Sirleaf and Tawakkol Karman of Lebanon. Her recent TED speech is truly inspiring, and when hearing her speaking on GPS with Fareed Zakaria helped me articulate how I felt the West should be involved in affecting change on the continent, which I blogged about here.

3.  Ashley Judd

I have always liked Ms. Judd's acting and the fact that she disappears from sight when she is not working, maintaining a mystery and a dignity that few in Hollywood can muster these days.  I am currently enjoying watching her in the new series Missing, in which she is an ex-CIA agent who lost her husband due to the job so she retires only to have her son in kidnapped in Rome a decade later.  I love the strong motherly character this brings out in her.  She chop-sueys her way through Europe, kills baddies and follows clues spurred by the love of her child and she does it in a female way, not in a "the only way I can do this is to be like a man", like so many other female characters in this genre are often played.   One of my first posts on the blog was about Salt, the movie with Angelina Jolie and I had issues with how some of the plot was geared so as not to emasculate the men as is also the norm with a strong woman protagonist, but Missing has men who are men and their manhood is not defined by women having to take a back seat in some way and Judd is able to take charge without losing her womanhood or having to be stereotypically effeminate. 

I digress.  What I wanted to say was I enjoyed her recent article in the Daily Beast.  She writes about how women are hypersexualised, how our worth is essentialised to merely our physical appearance,  how we are limited by not only the paternalistic and parochial nature of our societies, but also how we women are perpetuating this discrimination and are actually guilty of fuelling the prejudices we face daily, though we like to blame men for our lot in life.  

4 songs by beautiful African women:

1. This is my theme song right now.  If you do decide to indulge in some of the recreational activities she lists, you know how I feel about when it starts to rain - please use a raincoat :)

2.  This video just makes me happy, and the song by itself is just lovely.  I really want a kaftan now.

3.  "All I know is Swagger!"  I love it.  Watched this Channel O introduction to Camp Mulla and just loved how Miss Karun is so articulate and chilled for one so young.  I particularly liked when she said that she really doesn't like to get bogged down in defining exactly what genre Camp Mulla's music is because it is inspired, draws from and uses elements across many different sounds, cultures and experiences.  I think her philosphy should be applied to gender, race, culture, religion and life really.  Stop trying to put everyone and everything in a box and just take things and people for what they are.  We are all influenced by many things, and while stereotypes and norms help us form schema to make it through the world, they are a guide, NOT strict rules and definitions to be adhered to.  There must be room and a welcome space for deviations as they are the crux of creativity, innovation, progress and evolution.

4. Toya DeLazy's style is clearly inspired by menswear (I heart very much) and she does not subscribe to your typical bubblegum pop princess "I'm cute and pretty" or the "hey look I'm sexy and edgy and different (but really still a slave to the machine)" clubs, but doesn't come off like she is trying to hide her womanhood or sexuality either.  I love that she has her own style and is making pop music without needing to be half-naked, gyrating and/ or humping the floor to get our attention and is still singing with sense, depth and meaning to  her lyrics.  She knows she has her own brand of swag and is not afraid to show it.

10 woman/ female related things that put a smile on my face (in no particular order):

1.  African Voices with John Meletse

If you are wondering why I have started off with a man, my answer to you is being gay falls in to the female category when put in the gender dichtomy paradigm of male/ female, masculine/ feminine and therefore into sister dichotomies: strong/ weak, ruler/ subordinate, defender/ defenceless etc. And disabled people in the world fall into the same category too.  He states he very much identifies more with women in society than men so I rest my case. You can watch the episode of African Voices with John here.

2. Rwanda's Parliament has a 55% female majority, the first in the world :)

Not only is Parliament mostly female, it is quite youthful and connected through social media.  Way to go Rwanda for leading the way!  I came across these lovely nuggets of trivia while enjoying an article laced with inspirational quotes from President Kagame about how we Africans need to start being agents of change on the continent, rather than limiting ourselves to being passive receptors of whatever fate is bestowed on us from outsiders. We need to stop talking and start doing because "people don't eat debates, they eat food". Love it!

3. Chimamanda Adichie

Though she has irked me in the past with some of her views, she is a badass.  Her TED talk on the dangers of the single story has really helped me process and navigate through the issues of the day in the media.

4. Christina Hendricks aka Joan in Mad Men

Saw a picture of her as Joan on Mad Men's Facebook page and the read the comments from BOTH men and women praising and enjoying her voluptuous figure without hypersexualising her undulating lady lumps and humps or hateration. This kind of positivity helps to promote healthy and diverse body images in the media and in turn in society . It reminds me of an interview I watched of hers where she responded "You've gotta eat!" when she was asked how she maintains her lovely figure. Yay for curves and being healthy!

5.  Viola Davis rocking her TWA

For y'all that don't know, TWA means teeny weenie afro.  It's so sad that she has not been rocking her natural hair for fear of discrimination on the job and I'm glad that she showed how beautiful she can be without straight hair and/ or a wig at the Oscars.  I do not have a problem with Black women rocking whatever texture hair or wearing their own versus bought hair.  What I'm all about is why.  If you are shunning your natural hair because of some sort of societal pressure or an unchecked self hate then I have a problem.  I also have issues with people thinking they are better than someone else because they have relaxed or weaved hair or when they rock dreads or a fro.

6. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian Finance Minister, former World Bank managing director and World Bank head hopeful

Yesterday it was confirmed that Obama's choice, Kim Yong Jim, will be the new head of the World Bank :( despite support from not only many African nations but from around the world.  She is proof that women and Africans hold powerful positions and are serious contenders on the global stage.

7. Inspirational film

Listen to and be inspired by Tunisian Nadia El Fani talking about making a a controversial film that includes a scene with a restaurant serving food during Ramadan and about how Muslims need to change their own perceptions of what they are capable of and what human rights they are worthy of.  She has made this film because she is a patriotic Tunisian and not to be a rabble-rouser for no apparent reason. I also just came across the fact that Luc Besson made a film about Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese activist who has been under house arrest for years and recently made history by being elected to Parliament.  It's called The Lady and stars Michelle Yeoh.

8. Mark Grist's spoken word piece on loving women who read

Thank God for this, I always suspected there were more men out there with such sentiments.



9.  Inspirational quotes

As always, Maya Angelou, the eternal tall drink of refreshing water has a new quote ready for me to discover and love:

"I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being."

"The right man will love all the things about you that the wrong man was intimidated by." Whoever said that is absolutely right :)

10. Titica, the transsexual singer in Angola

Included for the same reasons as John Meletse.  A man taking on a female persona in a Catholic country.  Courage is always inspiring :).  You can read about Titica here. 

Afropolitan Musings

This post originally had a video that was part of my series Video Musing of an Afropolitan Woman.  It was the second of three I made.  I realised that it took way too much energy to talk and be me in front of the camera, it is much easier for me to write to convey my nonsense and splashes of profound insight and brilliance (we can agree to disagree on that he he he).  I don't have the desire to be in front of the camera really.  I think that my posts in and of themselves more than adequately reflect my personality.  If you haven't realised by now that I am an intelligent, slightly unhinged and wacky afropolitan woman I can't help you ;}.

I am currently feeling my technology deficit and how I have been meaning to rectify it.  So of course the only person to come to aid this damsel in distress is Santa, whether it be the fat dude in the North Pole or some very handsome, rich man whom comes baring lots of gifts ha ha ha ha ;}. Being independent doesn't mean not asking for help when you need it, I do not think this infringes on my quest for female empowerment at all :).

I have added a new quote to the Amashiwi section up top and on the page too:


Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning   - Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

I am currently working through Maya Angelou's 6 part autobiography and I am engrossed in the first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Her memory of her childhood is immaculate and her simple retelling of her youth is so honest, so childish, so poignant, so uplifting and so engaging! When I finish them all I will muse of course :).

For now, I have discovered what I imagine it would be like to be Mr. Tumnus. My lower body is really hurting, my sister definitely listened when I asked her to make an exercise plan that concentrated my thighs and butt. All I can feel right now is the forgotten muscles located in the lower extremities. So I imagine this is what it would feel like if I was a centaur. However, after only a day of exercise (my plan is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, weight and ball work followed by 30 minutes of dancing) I feel so fresh and so clean clean! I slept so well last night, bar waking up at 6am when my body stretched and was reminded of the muscles it had forgotten.  I stretched this morning and now will stretch everyday and not just before and after exercise. I just feel sooooooo alive!  There is a difference between being extant and actually participating in life. Using your body is part of participating. I am ashamed that I cowered in the corner when things got a little rough and neglected this facet of my life.  Hopefully never again!

Music With A Message

I have been noticing that there are quite a lot of songs emanating from the very soul of the African continent and the diaspora with an empowering or moral tone to them.  When I think about songs with a mission I think of the sixties and seventies when John Lennon asked the world to "give peace a chance" and Marvin Gaye asked "what's going on?" Those questions can still be asked today, but I don't really hear them being asked with the passion that was done in those days in the musical realm.

Here are a few songs I have come across in the last couple of months that are asking questions of us and/ or hope to inspire us:

Shedding light on Diabetes:



Abuse and empowerment:





Politics:



Race:



Prejudice:



Do these songs have as much of an impact today as they did then?  The last song I can really think of that had any kind of impact was Hugh Masekela's "Bring Back Nelson Mandela" in the 80s. Are we so jaded now that songs can no longer stir us into action, providing the soundtrack to change?  Does music no longer have political and/ or social clout? Or have we not found a way to expose these songs in the 21st Century digital world we live in, where everything is accessible but access is thwarted by the way our lives are constantly being fragmented into tiny pieces that it is hard to see the links sometimes? A lot to ponder, hmmmmmmm..........

The Journey Has Officially Begun

Voting for secession or unity for Southern Sudan was officially over yesterday and now begins the task of journeying ahead with the outcome decided upon.  President Kiir has called for forgiveness and peace.  I am hoping that Sudan can follow in South African footsteps and find a way to peacefully work together to find a solution that brings both sides forward without more blaming and violence.  Preliminary results are leaning heavily towards secession even though the process of counting and verifying is to take a month.

The Sudanese seem to have have been inspired by South Africa in other ways.  In this video after a South Sudanese man voted, he proceeded to blow on a vuvuzela to celebrate! More importantly Mohammed Ibrahim Khalil, Chairman Southern Sudan Referendum Commission,  says that at the referendum vote was "the most peaceful, the most orderly, and the quietest [Sudan has seen.]...It is really a great achievement." I am glad that positives are being drawn out of the situation already.  Positive energy leads to positive results I say.

Gyan Named African Footballer of the Year And Other Sports News...

I am so happy to report that my voting enabled Asamoah Gyan of Ghana/ Sunderland to be named BBC's African Footballer of the year ha ha ha!   With his leadership during the World Cup I am not surprised.  We Africans truly appreciated how he helped Ghana step up to the plate to keep an African Nation visible and relevant during the tournament.  I would split my pajama bottoms while in the process of falling to my knees before the nail biting penalty in front of the TV for him again any day.  He is truly a Black Star ;}.

You can watch his thank you and read more about it here.

I have not mentioned the fact that Nadal lost to Federer in the ATP Finals last month due to the fact that I don't want to dwell on that because he had such a stellar year.  However, Federer is hosting an exhibition match in Switzerland this Tuesday to raise money for his Foundation that does work in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa.  I know that it is only an exhibition match but I want Nadal to win. It will make me feel better.  And I hope he wears the purple again.  He wears my favourite colour well ha ha ha ha. And I happen to be in Switzerland so I should be able to catch it. Problem is there are so many random Arabic Channels to sort through hopefully find the Swiss one it is showing on. Federer's Facebook page also indicates it will be shown on other channels so you can check there to see if you can catch it too.

World AIDS Day

I have never actually ever really observed today.  I know it happens every 1st of December and I have worn ribbons at certain points in my life but I have never participated in any events or really sat down to reflect on why this day has been created.  This year I helped organise events at work and participated and have seen AIDS with clear glasses for the first time, now that I have been most graciously informed that I had rose-coloured ones on before.

I have always been passionate about AIDS and Africa. When I was about 8 years old I was deathly afraid of contracting the disease as it had been drummed into me that AIDS was a death sentence and people who contracted it had somehow done something very wrong and that's why they got it.  The vestiges of that is an acute awareness and vigilance bordering on the psychotic in my personal life because of it.  As I got older and started to understand the social aspects of it the fear that could have led to discrimination thankfully evolved into a fire that burns to be a part of doing something about it.  If I had been a better student I would have fulfilled my childhood dream (this was one of many) of finding the cure.  However this would entail what I consider to be copious amounts of school and a skill that I avoid using at all costs and that is research (I know you may be surprised  by this as my posts tend to have such depth (yes I flatter myself ha ha ha) but this pleasurable and voluntary unlike school and prolonged work related stuff which can be quite painful if you have to do it with no perceivable end) and another called discipline that I have very little of.  So I decided that I would do everything I can to help with the skills I do have.

I happen to be working for an organisation that is at the forefront in trying to reverse the epidemic and this makes me happy.  Blogging about it  helps because it is an issue at the top of Africa's agenda.  Today, at work, I heard from people living withe disease talk about particular experiences in their lives after they had contracted HIV and two things stood out to me:

1. There is no face for HIV/ AIDS.  Yes Africa has the most affected by the disease but it is detrimental to keep showing the face of a disenfranchised African woman or child whenever AIDS is mentioned, and when the media want to switch it up the faces change to gay men, because it allows people who do not identify to think that they are safe or even immune and it stigmatises certain groups no matter how the messages are presented.  On the panel there were women AND men, who were gay AND straight, who came from Africa AND Europe AND Asia AND the USA and were younger AND older.   It can happen to anyone in a manner of ways.  However, because my workmates are not disenfranchised or underprivileged it is clear that their stations in life have enabled them to be able to be empowered by their individual ownership of how they live with HIV and in being able to speak about their experience in a safe place with support and in actively working to help others have the same opportunities to live in good health and which leads me to the second thing...

2. AIDS is a Human Rights issue more than anything right now.  So the second thing I learnt was that people living with HIV are battling daily around the world for the right to be human.  For the right to have children if they choose, to be able to have access to proper medical care, to not be stigmatised, and most importantly to live, and not just in terms of the medical, but to live freely amongst the rest of "us" even though there really should not be such a distinction.

That is why I changed the amashibi (words) above to the Koffi Annan quote from World AIDS Day 2003 because his call to arms is still relevant, and maybe even more so, today:

We must continue to speak up openly about AIDS. No progress will be achieved by being timid, refusing to face unpleasant facts, or prejudging our fellow human beings - still less by stigmatising people living with HIV/AIDS.  Let no one imagine that we can protect ourselves by building barriers between "us" and "them.  In the ruthless world of AIDS, there is not us and them.  And in that world, 
silence is death.


The rest of the week I will explore certain issues surrounding AIDS.  Check out the (RED) website to see what people are doing around the world to commemorate the day. The UNAIDS 2010 Global Report happily reports that the number of new cases in Africa is going down and that this phenomenon is most acute in young people although disturbingly it in on the rise with older people.  You can also watch quite powerful and harrowing videos documenting the photo sessions around the world for the Access to Life Exhibition, a collaboration between the Global Fund and Magnum Photos.  I like this exhibition and the videos because it shows the many faces of HIV/ AIDS but at the same time I am always a little wary of documenting people's pain and suffering, I find it a bit intrusive and exploitative.  I don't think I'll ever be able to reconcile this conflict.

I was able to get these beaded AIDS pins  for everyone at work from Wola Nani, a great initiative in South Africa that provides medical, financial, economic and social support to people living with HIV, especially women. I really like programs that empower, that think about the big picture and not just about charity which I feel is usually more about the person giving patting themselves on the back for being so altruistic rather than being about the person in need. Charity is not sustainable but self-sufficiency is.  Going beyond giving a hand-out, an ephemeral happenstance to giving someone knowledge and skills, (as my father always says these are the things that no one can take away from you) is something that can be perpetuated.  You know the whole giving a fish versus taking people fishing to teach them how to catch one themselves thing.

Wola Nani is Xhosa for "we embrace and develop one another". I hope that this AIDS Day you'll think about how to do that in your community with regards to people living with HIV and find ways to incorporate those wise words into all facets of life :)

Art Is The Theme It seems

It seems that all that I am seeing right now pertains to Art.  Maybe like Angola, I am looking to heal with creativity as I keep seeing horrible headlines about fighting between Marocco and Western Sahara, of violence after the polls in Guinea, a couple killed on their honeymoon in South Africa and something going on in Egypt! If it bleeds it leads is really being applied to Africa this week :(.

So I am going to focus on more happy things.  Catching up on blog reading exposed me to more Angolan art and also alerted me to a huge art exhibition in New York at the Museum of Arts and Design called The Global Africa Project that starts tomorrow. All facets of African creativity are showcased in both old and traditional forms and new hybrid ones.  The exhibition seeks to show the varied dimensions of work that Africans worldwide have produced and have organised The Global Africa project "around several thematic ideas.  These include: the phenomenon of intersecting cultures and cultural fusion; the branding and co-opting of cultural references; how art and design is promoted in the international market and the creative global scene; the use of local materials; and the impact of art-making on the economic and social condition of local communities.  In addition to providing a broad framework for the exhibition's organisation, these themes will encourage audiences to discern how global African artists grapple with the commodification of art production and the meaning and value of art in society - an increasingly significant issue for nations in a rapidly changing global context."

 

For a better and more knowledgeable analysis of the exhibition, as well as images of the exhibits, read Afri-Love's post and the Museum's blog. I am happy to see our creativity being showcased both in Africa and around the world :)

Art's Healing Power

I am finally keeping to my word and writing a post I promised to write ages ago.  When I was flying home I read about this wonderful art festival happening in Luanda right now.  Il Trienal de Luanda is a triennial arts exhibition started by one of Angola's sons, Fernando Alvim.  It is the most renowned of its kind in Africa and features outdoor billboard paintings, formal exhibitions, television and radio debates, educational programmes, theatrical performances and more, with the proceeds from these events financing the finale in December. This celebration of art started on the 12th of September and goes on till December 19th so you still have time to catch it if you happen to be going to Angola any time soon. The point of the Triennial is to celebrate Angolan history and heritage, but also to help heal the wounds suffered from years of fighting.  I think this is a great way to attract people to Angola, just as with them holding the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year

Fernando Alvim is also curator of the Sindika Dokolo Collection, which is the largest collection of contemporary African Art in the world.  Artists from Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroun, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Marocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Zimbabwe are showcased, as well as artists from around the world.  I am particulary taken with this set of prints and this photo is so eerily involving. And I can't get over the fact that there is an artist called Nastio Mosquito ha ha ha ha ha ;}.

I have a love/ hate relationship with contemporary art. Some of it just seems so self-involved and important. I visited LACMA earlier in the year and the collection they had showing had me thinking: really??!!! Some of it you could put together yourself but as they say that is not the point, it's all about the experience. Whatever. I expect to be wowed by something I couldn't do myself.  I need to see creativity and ability that I cannot produce to appreciate.  A pile of boxes just doesn't do it for me I'm afraid...

Being A True Afropolitan

Thought I would not get to post till I arrived home and got used to the high that comes from the motherland's loving embrace as the heat envelopes you as the plane door opens and the love from family cleanses your soul and revitalises your spirit...And the food coma that I can't wait to indulge over the coming weeks from home cooked food that only Mummy can make just right ;}.  However, here I am at Dubai International Airport taking advantage of the free internet to make this 9 hour layover bareable!

I am a very loyal person in general.  Although I adapt well to change, I can be very reluctant to let it occur, I like the comfort in routine where I can in my constantly evolving life.  Since 1992 I have flown on average 4-6 times a year with British Airways back and forth from the West to home, mainly because they are the most convenient.  However, in recent times they have wobbled, but as I am a frequent flyer they have rewarded me.  But their price for the ticket home was preposterous, and South African Airways weren't much better. .  I am flying for $1000 less with Emirates so the inconvenience of flying 5/1/2 hours to far East and then 2 hours too far South to then go back up 2 hours again with an SAA flight, making a journey of a total of 14 hours layover and 26 hours flying worth it.  The good thing is my in-flight routine is transplantable so I am able to preserve the continuity of routine n that regard.

Emirates are lovely and they are showing Africa the love too.  They are launching a new flight to Dakar next month and are offering free hotel stays for the first travellers.  They also have a lot of African stories in their magazine about interesting things going on on the continent and here in the airport I saw for the first time learn to speak Amharic, Yoruba and Zulu CDs!  Their in-flight entertainment is unparalleled with so many options from all over the world.  The air hostesses aren't forced to wear heels, they can wear flats to work the almost 16 hour flight or trousers if they wish to and their flight staff are a Benetton ad. They are really a first class organisation.  Will do a separate post on them when I get my hands on the magazine again when I take my next flight in a coupla hours so I can convert my pleasurable reading into a post :).

If this post doesn't make any sense forgive me I'm jet lagged due to the new and awkward timing of my flights. If it does, ignore the former statement ;}

Shaka Zulu: A Trendy Hang Out With A Conscience

Shaka Zulu Lounge, Restaurant and Club recently had its launch party in Camden, London.  I know this because while satisfying my pop culture celebrity gossip fix, I saw pictures of Amy Winehouse stumbling out of the place, which made me curious and a just a little bit skeptical. Ok a lot skeptical.  I mean, calling your place Shaka Zulu is rather bold and potentially foolhardy. But upon researching the venture, this actually looks like a very classy affair and decadently appropriate for a place named after one of the greatest chiefs in African history.  Reminded me of the Double Club, inspired by Congolese culture and made possible with the help of Nigerian Bank Guaranty Trust, which I had the pleasure of going to when it was in London from 2008-9.  When I went there for a friend's birthday party, the food tasted like home and they actually played proper lingala and decale music (also referred to as rhumba). And they had all those creepily metrosexual Congolese guys giving their stamp of approval all ridiculously coiffed, clad in pink and white suits, too tight t-shirts and malanga mpamvus drinking and dancing the night away. The Double Club felt like a club at home, Xenon, that in its hayday was the place to go party when I was a teenager.  Plastic chairs outside, a very cosy dancefloor, a very warm atmosphere with too small a bar to serve all the customers.  Part of the proceeds of this art project went to crisis victims in the DRC through the City of Joy/ Unicef project.

Shaka Zulu takes this one step further, being a permanent fixture at the hip, boho, Stables Market location rather than the kinda scary, back lot, warehouse location of the temporary Double Club. The brainchild of Roger Payne, this venture seeks not only to celebrate Zulu and South African culture, it seeks to respect it as well.  Here is a video of Payne seeking King Goodwill Zwelethini's approval and support for the venture and its charitable intentions.



The menus for the bar, braai, and seafood and oyster bar source mainly from South Africa but the Zulu ubuntu spirit is alive and well too with inspiration from Namibia, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Mocambique. Dining comes with an optional £1 charge that goes towards the £1 million Shaka Zulu plans to raise to support Education Africa.  They also plan to have a shop that will sell African goods, including those created by King Zwelethini's initiative for job creation, Bayede!. The shop will also stock food and wine from South Africa.

There is a fine line between paying homage to a culture through inspiration and offending without meaning to.  This seems like a healthy respect and celebration of South African culture that is available to not only the celebrities but also the general public.  Unlike with fashion, it seems that concept restaurants are a more inclusive (and perhaps less pretentious) way to go for people to celebrate African culture and support development if they choose to.  A more democratic approach to living life to its fullest with a conscience every now and again.  I will definitely make the effort to check it out  the next time I am in London.

Dress To Express: Proudly African Accessories

I have a serious addiction to earrings.  Some women need to put on some sort of makeup to be able to get out of the house.  Some need to comb their hair.  For me, I need to put on my jewelry.  My watch, my rings and earrings and I am good to go or I feel naked.  And the moment I get home I have to take them off because I feel like I need to shed the weight of the world outside.  Shakalala-ed hair can be concealed under a hat or a bandana and quite frankly I love sleep too much so only give enough room for showering and dressing.  Extra fiddling on a daily basis is too much for me.  When I was a kid I would sleep with my braids tied so when I woke up for school in the morning all I had to do was brush the top.  I know, I should be ashamed.  I am not. It was cold at boarding school, I don't function well under 25 degrees Celcuis. And my mother was not around he he he ;}...

I however, do believe you should dress to express.  And for me, the best way to keep in touch with my African-ness is through jewelry, particularly earrings.  As LOLZ said recently when we were donning African outfits for my graduation that sometimes we Afropolitans can rock the African too much. Chitenge bag, necklace, earrings can be overkill, I admit.  But I like to rock my earrings, if nothing else, especially seeing as for some reason people back home tend to shun these items, thinking they are are only for tourists at the market and would rather adorn themselves with (better) Western accessories.  That is evidence of colonisation of the mind I think.  If beads and wood were good enough for my ancestors, they are good enough for me.  If we do not support our local artisans and our culture in turn, who will?!  My OLDEST FRIEND commented that my earring style exposes my chongololo-ness (meaning centi/milipede and also refers to kids who go abroad to boarding school).  Perhaps my need to connect with my African-ness has something to do with it.  So I make a concerted effort to make sure that my earring diversity includes solid African representation as it grows. 

I also like the fact that I can get beautiful earrings for a $1-2 and necklaces for $5-6 after bargaining and I get compliments on them, with people believing they are worth so much more. And lovely friends who have gotten me accessories from Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa as far as I know. This is in keeping with my dress code:

Fashion is in the now and ephemeral but style is priceless and eternal.

I have also found a way to get pretty cheap $5-6 earrings from Tar-jay, many of which look like they were made at home. They could have been, although they most probably were made in India or China.I was able to get shell earrings for £1 from Primani that look like they are from home.  I recently bought a pair of yellow shell earrings from Santa Barbara and saw the same green shell earrings I put together myself from Dubai ready-made in the shop! (The shells had a eye added to them already so only needed earring hooks which are very easy to add so I really didn't do much).    Shell earrings are an easy way to get the "exotic" natural "ethnic" look from afar, grrr to those words grrrr, which also leads people to believe that they are from home (apart from the fact that I come from a completely landlocked country is besides the point :}). And I think this is the main deterrent for people who are susceptible to inquiries and observations using "words that should be banned" when they dress a certain way.  This is why for the longest time I could not wear animal print anything -  too much for me to try and wear normally without the stigma of the "tribal" and/ or the skanky.  Now I can do a splash with my leather snake skin flats and a coupla earrings with leopard and zebra-stripes.  I am proud of my transcendence of the stereotype in an acceptable fashion he he he...

OXFORD SHIRT came up with this awesome way of creating easy access/ viewing of your collection for quick selection and matching with outfit purposes.  A great use for the excess cloth pieces from African outfits that every African woman possesses and never knows what to do with because they are too small or too big to do anything practical with.  However, you DO NOT put your expensive/family heirloom/ sentimental/ if-it-were-stolen-you'd-have-a-coronary jewelry on display. Nothing up on my wall was more than $10 so even though I am greatly attached to all my jewelry, I can get over the loss as I have many a time when I have lost an earring while out and about (why is it that you only ever lose ONE?!). This is when you go to Claire's and get a pack of those plastic earring backs to curb the problem.  And you stop living in London because coats and the wind repeatedly collude to dislodge earrings.

N.B. This only works in America, where they are allergic to building with brick and use something called dry wall that is soft enough to be able to push pins into in a haphazard manner to form a pretty earring wall.  Which is great until you live in LA and feel frikking earthquake tremors every month that shake you awake in the middle of the night until you get used to them and start sleeping through them and only then notice in the daytime. Which means you are now set up to die either by the flimsiness of your abode and/ or the fact that can sleep through stuff like that. But at least you get pretty decoration out of functional wall use.

I had to take a picture before taking this down as I sojourn back to the motherland.  So proud he he he...

And here is a picture of the new earrings that didn't make it to the display wall above, but will definitely be up there when I am able to create a new one. I have never seen yellow shells before I am still giddy about this find!

Obama's Address To The President's Forum With Young African Leaders: " You represent a different vision, a vision of Africa on the move."

President Barack Hussein Obama did not disappoint and gave a rousing speech, (here is the transcript, but I would advise you to watch the video), in keeping with his reputation as a gifted and insightful orator.  He made sure to single out the accomplishments of the audience from a Djiboutian starting off selling ice cream to now running his own accounting practice, a Malawian using her positive HIV status to break barriers, to an Ivorian journalist fighting for the rights of Muslim women (which made me think of North Africa's absence again :( ). He also drew from his father's life, telling of how he was able to take advantage of educational exchange and also how Kenya was in a better position economically that South Korea in the 60s but is now not as developed - a cautionary tale about all of our squandered opportunities.  He capped it off by answering questions from attendees representing Mocambique, Liberia, Mali, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Somalia.  He answered eloquently off-the-cuff about HIV, Zimbabwe, Somalia and the bombings in Uganda, the World Cup, brain drain, and the potential pitfalls and the opportunities for success on the continent.

Can I just say that I loved the woman in the purple's outfit.  One because it's purple, my fav colour.  Two because it was beautiful.  She is one of those that people back home would tell you to watch out for.  He he he.  Also could not find the leader I knew in the audience.  I have eyes and ears everywhere.  I may be useless, but I like to surround myself with those that  bedazzle he he he...

Obama speeches always yield a healthy crop of quotes so I am going to let his words speak for themselves, with other little tidbits interspersed of course:

"Welcome to the White House, and welcome to the United States of America.  And that includes even our friends from Ghana, who beat us in the World Cup. (Laughter.) Where are you? Over there? That's all right.  It was close. We'll see you in 2014. (Laughter.)"

Later the response from a Ghanaian attendee:   A Ghanaian football pundits thoughts before the US-Ghana match:  "This is not war, it is football.  If it were war, then maybe we should be afraid because the might of America is more than us."

"You reflect the extraordinary history and diversity of the continent."

"In fact you represent the Africa that is so often overlooked - the great progress that many Africans have achieved and the unlimited potential that you've got going forward into the 21st Century."

"I don't see Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world."

FYI, in case you didn't know Senegal, Gabon, Nigeria and Madagascar are all celebrating 50 years of Independence. Randomly, Scuttle the Seagull from A Little Mermaid's voice said all of that in my head because he says "In case you didn't know the prince is getting married today" to Ariel in a very silly voice.  Sorry! This is my third post today, overload of seriousness, needed a bit of nonsense he he he...;}

"Africa's future belongs to its young people."

"Yes Youth Can" Kenya's adoption of Obama's "Yes We Can."

A quote from an tweeting attendee "If your actions inspire others to dream more, to learn more, to do more and become more then you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
This reminded me of how I  have no desire to become another twit on twitter. I'm sure its lovely.  I'm just not wired enough for that kind of deluge of information. So I now rely on MIghTy African to sieve for me so I can keep up-to-date with extra fast breaking news :).  You can read his comments on the Town Hall style meeting here. As my mother always says, "sieve, take what means something to you and discard the rest". Which has led me to coin a new euphemism:

"Sieve: don't be afraid to throw out the husks to keep the rice."


"The future is what you make it.  And so if you keep dreaming and keep working and keep learning and don't give up, then I'm confident that countries and the entire continent and the entire world will be better for it."

"Some old leaders get into old habits, and those habits are hard to break."

"Here is the interesting moment that we are in though - if you look at where the greatest opportunities are, they're actually now in emerging markets.  There are countries in Africa that are growing 7, 8, 9 percent a year.  So if you are an entrepreneur now with an idea you may be able to grow faster and achieve more back home that you could here."

"I've always said the destiny of Africa is going to be determined by Africans.  It's not going to be determined by me.  It is not going to be determined by people outside of the continent.  It's going to be determined by you.  All we can do is make sure our voices are heard and you're able to rise up and take hold of these opportunities.  If you do that, I think that there are going to be a lot of people who - even if they are educated abroad - want to come home to make their mark."

"I am a profound believer in not looking at violence as a solution to problems.  And I think the moral and ethical  power that comes with non-violence when properly mobilised is profound."
When I read this I was like hmmmm torture, rendition, Guantanamo, Afghanistan, Iraq...but a little bit later he said:

"And now it is not as if we are perfect.  Obviously we've got all kinds of problems as well.  But what it does mean is that the peaceful transfer of power and the notion that people always have a voice - our trust that democratic process is one that has to be embraced in all your countries as well."

"Oftentimes women are not getting the same voice in African countries, despite the fact that they are carrying more than their fair share of burdens."

"I will say that in Africa in particular, one thing we know is that empowering women is going to be critical to reducing the [HIV] transmission rate. We know that because so often women, not having any control over sexual practices and their own body, end up having extremely high transmission rates."

"Africa has some of our most loyal friends.  Every survey that's take, when you ask what continent generally has the most positive view about America, it turns out Africa generally has a positive view of America and positive experiences so I think you should be confident even if I'm not President that the American people genuinely want to see Africa succeed."

"South Africa has its problems, but from what everybody could see during the World Cup,  the potential for moving that country forward as a multiracial, African democracy that can succeed on the world stage, that's the model so far at least Zimbabwe has not followed.  And that's where I'd like to see it go."

"I think that this metaphor of the success of the World Cup and the bombing [in Uganda] shows that each of you are going to be confronted with two paths.  There's going to be a path that takes us into a direction of more conflict, more bloodshed, less economic development, continued poverty even as the rest of the world races ahead - or there's a vision in which people come together for the betterment and development of their own country."

"And for all the great promise that's been fulfilled over the last 50 years, I want you to understand - because I think it's important for us to be honest with ourselves - Africa has also missed huge opportunities for too long."